It’s April, and you know what they say: April showers bring May flowers. Well, I don’t care too much about flowers; I care about riding, and I hate riding in the rain. So the less it rains, the better, especially since our bags are packed, and the staff and I are headed out the door to Daytona. Nothing is worse than the city being socked in, with looming rain clouds overhead pumping up the humidity and threatening to put a damper on biker Spring Break.

Maybe you’re one of those unfortunates who can’t make it to Daytona (the boss-man won’t let you off work, the little woman’s got the household budget on lock-down, or your bike still hasn’t recovered from your winter project). Whatever your excuse, we’ve got an issue stuffed with nothing but the hottest bikes and the coolest parts to tide you over.

Speaking of hot bikes, it’s pretty hard to pass up the green and white panhead Greg Westbury of Westbury’s Handcrafted Motorcycles built. That bike is as custom as custom gets, with dual 21s-that’s right, 21 inches front and back. It looks as if tall and skinny is the new fat. These wheels are sick…and did you notice the burl-accented rims? Where have you ever seen that before? Oh, yeah, and that Street Glide? You could build one exactly like it just by thumbing through the Drag Fat Book. Want to own the Cadillac of custom manufactured bikes? Big Bear Choppers can fix you right up-build it yourself or let the experts sitting atop the San Bernardino Mountains build it for you.

Are you EFI-challenged? Check out our tech piece on what’s new in little black box technology; it will help you find the right part for your needs. Noise a problem in your neighborhood? Are you solely responsible for that noise? Supertrapp has a set of pipes that’ll help quiet you down without sacrificing hp; also, the set comes with an air filter and its own EFI control unit, all for less than a grand. We’ve also got a first-look tech story on the latest in brake technology. Don’t hide those new chromed wheels behind flying saucer-sized rotors-the 360 brake setup will not only let you show off your bling, it will also help you stop quicker and straighter.

So there you go. We’ve done all the hard work of chasing down the best custom bikes and the coolest new parts, and all you have to do is relax and enjoy. When you’re done reading, get that bike out of the garage and hit the streets.

Until next time
Eric